Baby has constant skin rash - see photo - what is this?

[hippymama25]

My 4 month old gets this red rash all over her belly, arms and legs almost every time I bath her, wet/wash her skin or put any type of lotion or oil. I've tried using only water with no soap, using baby soap, putting lotion or natural oil, not putting oil, and she just always gets the rash. I'm assuming it's just a normal baby rash, but is there anything else I should try to soothe her skin?

[hippymama25]

Oh, and I only bath her maybe twice a week.
 

[lovemyseamonkey]

 My little brother is 11 and has gotten that rash since he was a baby. It doesn't cause him any pain or itch or anything. We used to just use some unscented/hypoallergenic Vaseline lotion to make sure his skin wasn't getting dry. If you're too worried, maybe take her to a doctor.
Hope something helps your little girl

[Ratchet]

How long does it last?  Does it bother her?

[Just1More]

Have you tried switching laundry soap?  Maybe it's something in the washcloth?

[ZippyGirl]

Originally Posted by Just1More 

Have you tried switching laundry soap?  Maybe it's something in the washcloth?

  Do you use a fragrance-free laundry soap, and no dryer sheets?  I personally would love a worldwide ban on perfumey dryer sheets!  They make me so sick.  Here is a blog post about skin irritation and laundry soap and dryer sheets:

http://mommyfootprint.com/dryer-sheets-fabric-softner-a-household-toxin/

[hippymama25]

It does not seem to bother her and no I don't use dryer sheets. I think my detergent is free of fragrance.

[fruitfulmomma]

She only gets it with bathing? How long does it last? If you skipped bathtime for a week would it clear up? 

It could be chlorine in the water, ours has it really strong here especially in the mornings, and my dd who has really bad sensitivities would break out when I bathed her when she was younger though it does not seem to bother her now. If that is the case you can get a filter for it I think.

My only other guess would be your tub cleaner not getting rinsed out all the way or soap build-up.

[hippymama25]

Originally Posted by fruitfulmomma 

She only gets it with bathing? How long does it last? If you skipped bathtime for a week would it clear up? 

It could be chlorine in the water, ours has it really strong here especially in the mornings, and my dd who has really bad sensitivities would break out when I bathed her when she was younger though it does not seem to bother her now. If that is the case you can get a filter for it I think.

My only other guess would be your tub cleaner not getting rinsed out all the way or soap build-up.

Well no, she just always has it, but it gets worse when I bathe her. So, I just bathed her today but had not bathed her for a week and she still has the irritated skin, but it's not as red. Her skin feels very dry/scaly to the touch, especially on her belly. After her bath today I gave her a massage with almond oil. I've tried using oil or lotion and not using it and it doesn't seem to make any difference whether I use it or not, her skin still responds like it's irritated. I use a baby tub that is new and I haven't cleaned it, just rinse with water and baby soap, so it should be fine. It must just be her sensitive baby skin. Thanks for your thoughts!

[Just1More]

I have a friend who has a little girl that had eczema from infancy that got worse as she got older.  It turned out she had a zinc defienciency (sp? sorry.  I'm lazy this am).  I'm not sure if zinc goes through breastmilk, but maybe look into food intolerances, and vitmain/mineral supplements?

[ChristmasLover]

I'd put some coconut oil on her everyday.  It's a miracle cure for most skin problems, imo.

[Magali]

My dd had something similar.  I started washing her clothes by themselves in hot water with just a teeny tiny bit of scent free detergent, and gave them an extra rinse.  That cleared it up.  I tested it by washing her clothes normally with everyone else's now and then and it would come back.  No amount of coconut oil helped, I just needed to wash her clothes a certain way.  While it was clearing up I started using J&J's baby oil on her after baths because the rash was worse after baths.  By the way I just looked at your babe's rash again and it looks exactly like my dd'd did.

[McGucks]

A local pediatric dermatologist said MOST infant skin rashes are caused by Johnson & Johnson's products.  You didn't indicate using any of them, but I thought I'd throw that out there.

We use All Free & Clear and Bounce Free dryer sheets.  Our LO has very sensitive skin, and this works for us.

[hippymama25]

Our pediatrician looked at her skin today and said she definitely has eczema. She suggested using Baby Aquaphor and trying to eliminate dairy from my diet! It surprised me that the dairy that I am eating would pass into my breast milk and bother her skin! She said to eliminate dairy for a week and see if it makes a difference and if it doesn't, it's probably not the dairy, has anyone heard of this? Also, doesn't Aquaphor have petroleum? I thought petroleum products were toxic or is that still a varying opinion?
 

[McGucks]

The dairy thing is very common.  Did she tell you the many words to check for in looking for dairy in foods?  It's not just the obvious stuff like skipping milk and yogurt.

Allergies can be outgrown...don't worry that it's a life sentence!

Glad you've found an answer and hope it helps soon!

[hippymama25]

No, she just said to eliminate all dairy, didn't give much else detail so I'm about to research online :) I eat a lot of dairy so this will be really hard!

[twelshrn]

It's so hard to diagnose skin rashes.  Sometimes you just never find out where it comes from.  All you can do is try to eliminate all toxins from the environment, including laundry detergent, baby wash, synthetic fibers, disposable diapers, lotions, etc.  Use only natural organic baby washes, diaper creams, etc.  Use only non toxic laundry detergents (not any commercial free & clear because they are still toxic).  You can check on pinstripes and polka dots for a list of non toxic detergents.  Etsy.com has some wonderful organic baby creams.  If that doesn't work then you can do an elimination diet to see if it's a food allergy.  Good luck mama, hope your little one gets well.

[Loreley]

totally agree with you, twelshrn.

also, i would suggest to try out baby probiotics as well as udo's 3-6-9 oil. my baby developed something similar after his 4 month old vaccines - in our case, a possible immune reaction that came up in the form of eczema patches. after a lot of research, i started giving him some baby probiotics (to support his immune system) as well as massaging him daily with a mix of udo's oil 3-6-9 and a little bit of shea butter. the results were very quick to appear and now, at almost 8 moths, he is eczema free. i am aware of the fact that we were very lucky that he got such a good response to these, but i'm thinking that even if it's not under the same circumstances, the use of probiotics and omega-rich oil could only do some good to your little one.

good luck mama, i hope it will get better soon!

[sk8boarder15]

This is SOOO much like my son. It took us many many months to et his ezcma under control. We ended up using Califonia baby super sensitive soap in the tub, we use california baby calendula cream after his bath, we eliminated dairy and wheat (this helped more than anything!!). We use allen's naturally in the laundry, and only vinegar to clean the tub. 

Also, taking fish oil really seems to help keep his skin healthy. 

[MarcellaSimmons]

hi my baby has this and it is the milk when I was breast feeding she was always crying well she couldnt have breast milk at all, I had to put her on soy and she was good, when she had truned 1. I put her on whole milk and she got a big rash all over her so she had to have soy milk and it never came back well she has been having whole milk and this rash is coming back .